Pipeline integrity management (PIM) includes use of tools, technologies and strategies for ensuring integrity of pipeline assets and entities associated with operation and maintenance of oil and gas transmission and distribution pipelines. Entities associated with a pipeline include physical property, people and facilities in the vicinity of a pipeline. Since pipeline incidents pose a risk of causing significant damage to public property, human lives and environment, in addition to causing damage to pipeline assets, various regulations such as 49 CFR Parts 190 to 195 in the USA and Regulation 13A of the Pipelines Safety Regulations 1996 in the UK have been promulgated to enforce processes and procedures related to managing safe operations of a pipeline system.
Regulations such as Transmission Integrity Management Program (TIMP), Liquid Integrity Management Program (LIMP) and Distribution Integrity Management Program (DIMP), require oil and gas pipeline operators to address threats to pipeline integrity from internal and external sources, manage the risks and build organizational capabilities to mitigate or eliminate the probability and effects of all risks. Current practices in pipeline integrity management adopt an approach of conducting periodic pipeline integrity assessments. Based on results of pipeline integrity assessments, specific corrective actions such as repairs, rerating, decommissioning and replacement of parent pipeline, coating, measuring instruments, changes in procedures, skill enhancement of pipeline engineers and technicians are undertaken. However, the periodicity of pipeline integrity assessment varies with the practices of pipeline operators, often extending from one year to several years and the implementations of the recommendations undertaken are considered valid until the next assessment event. Additionally, the approach of conducting periodic pipeline integrity assessments assumes that the status & changes in the structural and operational conditions of the pipeline segments & equipments are within the acceptable tolerance limits and any deviations during the period between the previous assessment and the next remain unaccounted. Further, current risk assessment practices focus on the assessment of structural integrity of the pipeline system. Operational factors such as a pipeline operator's operational maturity & readiness to predict, prevent and respond to an impending failure threat is not accounted for significantly in the assessment. Such factors are integral to assuring pipeline integrity to stakeholders. Similarly, commercial implications of potential failures are also not taken into account in current risk assessment practices.
Based on the above limitations, there is need for a method and system for comprehensively calculating pipeline risk score, which can reflect the extent of risk to the pipeline operator's business due to pipeline integrity.